Among the many uses of polymer resins, one area of widespread usage is that of surface coatings for application to surfaces to be protected from degradation caused by chemicals, the environment, etc. Preferably, the polymer coating is transparent so as not to interfere, block or discolor the coated surface. Surfaces such as plastic, metal or wood can be coated for protection.
Two major classes of polymer coatings currently known and in use are the acrylic resins and polyvinylidine fluoride resins. The acrylics have good properties with regard to transparency, gloss, cure temperature (ambient), recoatability and flexibility, but are poor against chemical degradation, UV absorption and have a short life of 3 to 5 years. The polyvinylidine fluorides have good properties with regard to chemical resistance, flexibility and weathering life (20 years), but are poor for gloss, cure temperature (250 degrees C.), UV absorption and recoatability.
It is an object of this invention to provide a polymer coating composition having the optimum properties of the common compositions, while not suffering from the individual drawbacks of these coatings. It is an object to provide a coating composition easily applicable to a variety of surfaces, the composition being highly transparent and having good properties in regard to adhesion, gloss, cure temperature, life span, chemical resistance, flexibility, recoatability and UV absorption. It is a further object to provide such a composition which also includes specific additives for particular application surfaces and environments.